Led by fourth-year head coach and former Sporting Kansas City midfielder Paulo Nagamura, Sporting KC II (0-3-2, 2 points) will play for their first win of the season on Sunday when they meet El Paso Locomotive FC (1-0-1, 4 points) for the first time at Children’s Mercy Park.
The cross-divisional matchup will kick off at 4 p.m. CT and stream live on ESPN Plus. Sporting KC II home matches at Children's Mercy Park will be held without fans in attendance until further notice.
The inaugural meeting between the sides will serve as a reunion for three El Paso players who formerly competed professionally in Kansas City. Locomotive defender Mechack Jerome played two MLS seasons with Sporting KC from 2013-2014, Bryam Rebellon featured regularly for Sporting KC II in 2018, and on-loan goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas helped SKC II to consecutive Western Conference titles and USL Cup appearances in 2016 and 2017 while also serving as a backup keeper for Sporting KC at the MLS level from 2017-2019.
SKC II has featured a youthful squad consisting of emerging professionals under USL Championship contract, Sporting KC Academy products on amateur contracts and MLS loanees from the Sporting KC first team. Homegrown Player Tyler Freeman and forward Dominik Resetar have provided the club’s two goals in the early stages of 2021, while Sporting KC goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh has earned four straight USL Championship starts on loan. Sunday is the first of two home matches in the space of four days for SKC II, who will host regional rivals FC Tulsa next Wednesday, June 2.
El Paso head coach Mark Lowry took his current post when Locomotive FC entered the USL Championship ahead of the 2019 campaign. The Englishman has led El Paso to back-to-back playoff runs to the Western Conference finals, most recently guiding the side to an impressive 9-2-5 record in 2020. Locomotive FC will be hitting the road for the first time this year after opening 2021 with a 1-1 draw against New Mexico United and a 1-0 win over Rio Grande Valley FC Toros on home soil.
Match Information
USL Championship: Match 6
Date: Sunday, May 30
Kickoff: 4 p.m. CT
Location: Children's Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kansas)
Live Stream: ESPN Plus
Sporting Kansas City II: 0-3-2, 2 points (7th place in Central Division)
El Paso Locomotive FC: 1-0-1, 4 points (4th place in Mountain Division)
ESPN+ Live Stream Link: Click here
USL Championship MatchCenter: Click here
Match Notes: Click here
SOCIAL TAGS
Match-specific hashtag: #SKCvELP
Sporting KC II
Twitter: @SportingKCII
Instagram: @SportingKCII
El Paso Locomotive FC
Twitter: @eplocomotivefc
Instagram: @eplocomotivefc
